About this blog…

With At the River's Bend, the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer takes a look at what's going on in the political and government scene in Owensboro and Kentucky. Tune in to find out the latest news, happenings and political conversations that make this city and state such interesting places to live.

Dr. James Buckmaster, a Henderson physician who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the U. S. Senate, is scheduled to attend the Whitesville Lions Club Fish Fry from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday in Whitesville.

He is a graduate of Brescia University and has family connections in Whitesville. His mother-in-law, Dorothy Boarman, grew up there, according to Buckmaster’s Web site.

Employees of the downtown Owensboro state office building were hit with the headline “Hotel site contaminated” streamed across the top of the front page of Wednesday’s Messenger-Inquirer. The story about serious soil contamination at the site wasn’t lost on Frankfort. Before the day was over, employees of the building received the following message from state officials:

“You may have read in this morning’s Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer about environmental concerns from the City of Owensboro regarding use of the site on which your office building is located. I want to assure each of you that there is no reason for concern on your part. The concerns raised in the story have no impact on the quality of the air inside your office building, as they relate directly to the potential implications of demolishing the building and developing the property for other uses.

To ensure the safety of our employees, the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection (DEP) recently conducted indoor air quality samples at your worksite. On March 10, 2010, DEP collected 8-hour time weighted samples from nine locations inside the building. This was done after working hours so that they could isolate the air flow in the building, allowing for any possible accumulation of vapor to be present. The samples were analyzed by an independent third party analytical laboratory for an exhaustive list of volatile organic compounds, including chlorinated solvents. The results of the tests were negative. They did not detect any chlorinated solvents in air inside the building and no volatile organic compounds were detected in air at levels that pose a threat to human health.

As the result of a leak from a nearby dry cleaning business many years ago, the city and state have closely monitored the quality of the soil beneath the state office building for nearly a decade and have never had any reason for alarm. The current presence of any chemicals that may have leached beneath the site of the building will not pose any threat to health or safety. The soil’s environmental condition does not preclude the future reuse and redevelopment of this property with proper mitigation of the soil.

The air quality in and around your building poses no threat to your health. Please be assured there is also no risk associated with enjoying your lunch or breaks in the area outside of the State Office Building.”

According to Cindy Lanham, director of communications for the Finance and Administration Cabinet, the message was signed by various state department directors who have workers in the Owensboro facility.

Friday, the Owensboro City Commission will hold a special called meeting to vote on repealing the ordinance that was approved earlier this month purchasing the state building. According to a source, the city now wants nothing to do with the building because of the contamination problems.

Two candidates for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate debated health care Tuesday by e-mail.

First up was Dr. Daniel Mongiardo, the incumbent lieutenant governor, saying in a news release, “Healthcare reform is a passion of mine. We have to get it done and get it done right.”

The statement continued: “I would support the House version of the bill, if and only if, I had assurances from the President that other critical reforms would be taken to rescue a healthcare system in danger of collapse, reforms that would do more to squeeze out the waste and inefficiencies of healthcare, improve patient care, and lower costs for everyone.

“Without those assurances, I would vote no because in and of itself this bill will not fundamentally address our healthcare challenges — and could undermine the laudable goals of reform.

“The Republicans failure to work with Democrats and seek common ground was unacceptable. And the special interest horse trading in the Senate bill was destructive to the cause of reform. The last thing our health system needs is partisanship. In the Senate, I will look for real solutions to move reforms forward.

“If Jack Conway believes this is the magic solution to healthcare, it’s proof that we need to send a doctor to the Senate — not just another politician.”

“My primary opponent stands with Mitch McConnell, Jim Bunning and Republicans who want to kill health care reform legislation while I stand with the hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians who have been abused by insurance companies, and desperately need access to affordable health care coverage. There is a clear choice in this race.”

What began as the Dugan Best Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan will now be known as the Mechanicsville Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan.

The name change came at the request of residents of the west side neighborhood that will see the infusion of $7.5 million in public and private housing and infrastructure improvement funds over the next four years.

The area was first known as Mechanicsville when it was developed by 29-year-old Robert Conway in 1892. The Dugan Best Recreation Center and Dugan Best Park at West 10th and Omega streets are part of the neighborhood.

Later this year, the Mechanicsville Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan is scheduled to begin with the construction of a section of Omega Street.

What is planned for the Mechanicsville neighborhood is similar to the redevelopment projects that brought improvements to the Baptisttown and Old Germantown neighborhoods in recent years, centering on the construction of many new government subsidized single-family homes, with many other homes renovated and streets, sidewalks and lighting were enhanced, all in an effort to increase home ownership rates and improve the look of the communities and overall quality of life for their residents.